The IT World
Beware: The Use of LinkedIn Can Be Career Limiting
Learn from others to avoid common pitfalls when using LinkedIn.
In today’s professional world, LinkedIn has become a widely used platform for networking and promoting one’s profile, especially in the IT industry. While it’s an excellent tool for enhancing careers, it can also have unintended negative consequences if not used carefully. Below are several incidents to be mindful of.
Personal vs Professional View
In 2017, a Google engineer wrote an internal memo expressing his personal views on Google’s diversity policy. The memo was leaked externally, sparking major public debate, and led to the engineer’s dismissal from Google on the basis of code of conduct.
In an attempt to defend himself, the engineer shared his views on LinkedIn, possibly to clear his name and justify that his dismissal was unrelated to his performance. However, this further damaged his professional reputation, as his views touched on a highly polarized subject.
The LinkedIn post drew further scrutiny to his profile, revealing that he had not completed his Ph.D. at Harvard, despite listing it in his profile. He later removed the claim, but the damage was already done.
